DC-DC converters with pulse generators shared between PWM and PFM modes

ABSTRACT

A DC-DC converter system having at least one DC-DC converter operating in either a PWM mode or a PFM mode is provided. The DC-DC converter system includes a state machine configured to control the switching between the PWM mode and PFM mode. The state machine determines whether an inductor current provided by the DC-DC converter reaches a first specified value for a selective number of clock cycles so switching between the PWM mode and PFM mode is to occur. A pulse generator circuit is connected to the state machine and being configured to provide the appropriate switching period for the PWM mode and the PFM mode at the time of switching. The pulse generator circuit is shared amongst the PWM mode or PFM mode and utilizes a master clock for its operations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention is related to the field of DC-DC converters, and inparticular to DC-DC converters with pulse generators shared between PWMand PFM modes

DC-DC converters are commonly used to supply DC power to electronicdevices, such as personal computers, hand-held devices, and the like,and are available in a variety of configurations for deriving a desiredDC output voltage from a given source of DC input voltage. For example,a buck mode or step-down DC-DC converter is often used to supply aregulated DC output voltage, whose value is less than the value of theDC source voltage. A typical step-down DC-DC converter includes one ormore power switches, current flow paths through which are coupledbetween a DC input voltage terminal and a reference voltage terminal(e.g., ground), and the common or phase node between which is connectedthrough an output inductor to an output voltage node, to which a storagecapacitor and the powered load/device are connected. By controllablyswitching the power switches on and off, the upstream end of the outputinductor is alternately connected between the DC input voltage and thereference voltage. This produces an alternately ramped-up andramped-down output current through the output inductor to the outputnode, and causes a stepped-down DC output voltage to be delivered to theload. The DC-DC converter may be configured as a voltage mode converteror a current mode converter.

In addition to the above-described voltage mode and current mode DC-DCconverters, there is an additional type of DC-DC converter, known as aconstant on-time or pulse-frequency modulated (PFM) DC-DC converter.This type of converter is typically used in applications where loadcurrent demand is relatively small, as in the case of a “sleep” or“quiescent” mode of operation of a notebook computer, for example. A PFMconverter includes a control loop having a voltage comparator, theoutput of which is used to create a triggering signal for a one-shotthat sets a constant on-time for a relatively narrow pulse-widthswitching signal upon which switching times of the power switches arebased. Because of its relatively narrow pulse-width, the switchingsignal provides the PFM mode converter with ability to turn on the powerswitches for very short time intervals—just sufficient to meet the verylow current demands of the load, thereby saving power and prolongingbattery life. This mode of operation is customarily referred to asdiscontinuous conduction mode (DCM), because for each switching pulse,the current delivered through the inductor is allowed to reach zero, andthe power switches are opened when this happens.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a DC-DCconverter system having at least one DC-DC converter operating in eithera PWM mode or a PFM mode. The DC-DC converter system includes a statemachine configured to control the switching between the PWM mode and PFMmode. The state machine checks to see if an inductor current provided bythe DC-DC converter reaches a first specified value for a selectivenumber of clock cycles so switching between the PWM mode and PFM mode isto occur. A pulse generator circuit is connected to the state machineand being configured to provide the appropriate switching period for thePWM mode and the PFM mode at the time of switching. The pulse generatorcircuit is shared amongst the PWM mode or PFM mode and utilizes a masterclock for its operations.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a methodof performing the operations of a DC-DC converter system having at leastone DC-DC converter operating in either a PWM mode or a PFM mode. Themethod includes controlling the switching between the PWM mode and PFMmode. The controlling step includes checking to see if an inductorcurrent provided by the DC-DC converter reaches a first specified valuefor a selective number of clock cycles so switching between the PWM modeand PFM mode is to occur. Also, the method includes providing a pulsegenerator circuit configured to provide the appropriate switching periodfor the PWM mode and the PFM mode at the time of switching. The pulsegenerator circuit is shared amongst the PWM mode or PFM mode andutilizes a master clock for its operations.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a DC-DCconverter system having at least one DC-DC converter operating in eithera PWM mode or a PFM mode. The DC-DC converter system comprises a statemachine configured to control the switching between the PWM mode and PFMmode. The state machine determines whether an inductor current providedby said DC-DC converter crosses a zero value in the PWM mode and checksfor a selective number of clock cycles to detect if the current does notcross the zero value in the PFM mode, so switching between the PWM modeand PFM mode. The DC-DC converter system further comprises a pulsegenerator circuit connected to the state machine and being configured toprovide the appropriate switching period for the PWM mode and the PFMmode at the time of switching.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a general depiction of theinvention;

FIGS. 2A-2B are graphs illustrating waveforms during the PWM mode andthe PFM mode;

FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating features of the automatic mode switching(AMS);

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating the efficiency from a behavioralsimulation of the AMS; and

FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating the output voltage during the transitionfrom the PWM mode to the PFM mode.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a single pulse generator that is shared betweenthe PFM and PWM modes. This allows for area savings and makes possibleto enhance the way the system switches between the modes.

In DC-DC converters using switching inductive elements, it is typical touse two operation modes to maximize conversion efficiency depending onload-current conditions. The Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) mode issuitable for delivery of large currents, while the Pulse FrequencyModulation (PFM) mode is suitable for small load currents. In PWM, theswitching period is fixed and the duty cycle is adjustable. In PFM, thepulse width is fixed and the period between pulses is adjustable. In theimplementation of these modes, the circuits that define the duty cyclefor PWM and the pulse width for PFM are usually independent. In theinvention, these two variables are obtained from the same circuit.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a general depiction of theautomated mode switch (AMS) for PFM and PWM modes. The AMS 2 includes anAMS state machine 4 being arranged to provide the controls for switchingbetween PWM and PFM modes. The AMS state machine 4 is connected to apulse generator circuit 6. The pulse generator circuit 6 is sharedamongst the PWM and PFM modes (e.g. the AMS 2 uses the single pulsegenerator circuit 6 to serve both PWM and PFM modes). Moreover, AMSstate machine 4 receives as input the load current i_(L), a signalsystem_reset, and shares the clock signal PWM_(CLK) with the pulsegenerator circuit 6. The state machine 4 uses the signal system_reset toreset its state variables and content during power up. In addition, thestate machine 4 uses the load current i_(L) to determine when switchingoccurs, this will be discussed further below. Also, the pulse generatorcircuit 6 receives input signals from a mixed-signal DC-DC buckconverter that can operate in either PWM or PFM modes.

When switching to PFM mode, it is desirable that the ratio between theon-time and total switching period is similar to the duty-cycle in thePWM mode. This condition ensures a smooth transition, since it satisfiesthe balance in the inductor's volt-second and capacitor's chargeachieved by the loop while in PWM mode. The pulse generator circuit 6includes a first multiplexing element 12 that receives as input thesignal PWM_(thresh). Also, the input signal PWM_(thresh) is provided toa low pass filter LPF that provides its output to the amplifier ×2. Theoutput amplifier multiples by 2 its input to produce the output signalPFM_(thresh). A mode signal is provided via a not gate 16 to the lowpass filter LPF by the AMS state machine 4 to activate it when the PWMmode is present otherwise it is in a frozen state. The firstmultiplexing element 12 receives as input the mode signal and outputseither the signal PWM_(thresh) or PFM_(thresh) based on the mode signal.The mode signal identifies whether PFM mode or PWM mode is active. Thedigital analog converter (DAC) 14 receives the output signal of thefirst multiplexing element 12 and outputs a signal v_(thresh) that isprovided as input to a comparator 8.

A second multiplexing element 10 receives as input signals PWM_(CLK) andPFM_(TRIGGER). Also, the second multiplexing element 10 receives asinput the mode signal provided by the AMS state machine 4 and outputseither the signal PWM_(CLK) or PFM_(TRIGGER) as the output signalramp_reset based on the mode signal. Depending on the value provided bythe signal ramp_reset, a NMOS switch sw either is open or closed. TheNMOS switch sw is open and closed as to allow the charging anddischarging of capacitor C to as to produce a ramp voltage v_(ramp). Thevoltage v_(ramp) is defined as the voltage across the capacitor C. Also,the voltage v_(ramp) is provided as input to the comparator 8. Thecomparator 8 provides an output signal v_(ctrl) used in switchingbetween PWM and PFM modes.

In this arrangement, the PFM mode is synchronous to the clock, and canhave a minimum switching period of two clock cycles. Therefore, topreserve the duty cycle, the on-time of the PFM pulse should be twicethe duty cycle during PWM mode. This is accomplished by taking thedigital average, using the low pass filter LPF, of the duty cycle,multiply it by two using the amplifier ×2, and use the result to definethe on-time during PFM. During the PFM mode, the filtering circuit isput in a frozen state.

The pulse generation circuit 6 is configured in the analog domain thatutilizes a master clock PWM_(CLK) for all operations. The pulsegenerator circuit 6 is shared between the PWM and PFM modes. This allowsfor area savings and makes possible to enhance the way the systemswitches between the modes.

In the PWM mode, the voltage v_(ramp) is reset every clock period, andthe duty cycle is defined by comparing the voltage v_(ramp) with athreshold voltage. During the PFM mode, the voltage v_(ramp) is reset bya trigger signal PFM_(TRIGGER) and the pulse width is defined bycomparing the ramp voltage with a threshold voltage.

During the PWM mode, an AMS state machine 4 is used to monitor the loadcurrent i_(L) using a polling method—it wakes up a current comparator 18periodically (every N_(POLL) clock cycles) and checks whether the loadcurrent i_(L) has crossed zero for a single clock cycle. If this is thecase, the state machine then checks for this condition every clockcycle. If verified for N_(LOW) consecutive clock cycles, an assumptionis made that the load current i_(L) is too light, and the DC-DCconverter is switched from PWM to PFM mode. If, at any time, thezero-crossing condition is not verified, the state machine will go backto the periodic polling mode. Note the comparator 18 compares thecurrent value i_(thresh), which in this case is zero, to that of thecurrent load i_(L).

During the PFM mode, the AMS state machine 4 monitors the currentcomparator 18 every time the output NMOS switch sw is on. Zero crossingsmean that DC-DC converter should remain in PFM mode. If a zero crossingis not detected, the state machine checks the number of consecutivetimes that this condition happens. After a N_(HIGH) number of times, itswitches the DC-DC back to PWM mode.

Although the PFM mode operation is based on a synchronous state machine,one of its interface signals operates asynchronously: the zero-crossingcurrent comparator 18 is active as long as the NMOS power switch isactive, and if a zero-crossing condition is detected, the power switchesare disabled promptly, without waiting for a clock edge. Allowing theNMOS device to be on any further would be wasteful in terms of power.

An example of the waveforms generated for each of the modes is shown inFIGS. 2A-2B. In the PWM mode, the threshold voltage PWM_(thresh) istypically generated by an error-amplifier and compensation circuit thatdetermines the optimum duty cycle. In the PFM mode, the thresholdvoltage PFM_(thresh) can be set to be a constant value, but it can bederived from the value used previously during the PWM mode.

An example of the mode switching approach in operation is shown in FIG.3. In this case, the load current i_(L) is ramped down slowly until itreaches zero, triggering the operation from PWM to PFM, and then rampsup, triggering the system back to PWM. For illustration purposes,N_(POLL)=128, N_(LOW)=8, and N_(HIGH)=8. Note that these values can bemade programmable.

A behavioral simulation is also included here for validation of thedescribed approach. The simulation uses the load current profile shownpreviously in FIG. 3. The behavioral model includes resistive andcapacitive power losses from the switches and from the control loop.FIG. 4 shows the efficiency curve obtained from the simulation.

As the load current ramps down to zero during the PWM mode, theefficiency reaches a maximum and starts dropping around 0.8 ms. Theconverter operating mode gets automatically switched soon after that,and it can be observed how the efficiency improves once it is in PFMmode. As the load current increases, a slight drop in efficiency isagain observed around 1.25 ms, and the converter is switched back to PWMmode. The time between 0 and 0.2 ms is not relevant to the analysis asthe converter is powering up.

FIG. 5 shows the simulated output voltage during the transition from thePWM to PFM mode. As mentioned above, the converter uses two clock cyclesduring PFM at its fastest, and this is seen in the first PFM cycle. Theoutput voltage shows only minor variations, as ensured by the pulsegeneration circuit 4 in FIG. 1.

The invention requires the PFM mode to run from a state machine which isclocked by the same clock signal used in the PWM mode. The switchingfrequency in the PFM mode is dependent on load current and batteryvoltage, and by running it synchronously, the switching frequency iseffectively quantized. Although this can seem lower than optimal, theeffect on power delivery efficiency is negligible, and it allows for asimplified handover between the modes and simpler implementation offeatures such as lock-out times and minimum switching rates.

The invention uses a larger polling period instead of monitoring thezero-current crossing comparator at every clock cycle. The inventionprovides a pulse generation circuit to provide the PFM on-timecalculation needed for switching between the PWM and PFM modes. Theinvention eliminates the need for the on-time calculation to be based ona fixed preset, with no dependence on the PWM operation. Therefore, theinvention takes into account the inductor and capacitor state variablesthat can have different balances during the PWM and PFM modes that causevoltage fluctuations during the transition. The pulse generator circuitpermits PWM and PFM modes to share the same duty-cycle and on-timegenerator. Also, the pulse generator is configured to operate in analogwith a single master clock for all operations.

Although the present invention has been shown and described with respectto several preferred embodiments thereof, various changes, omissions andadditions to the form and detail thereof, may be made therein, withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A DC-DC converter system having at least oneDC-DC converter operating in either a PWM mode or a PFM mode, said DC-DCconverter system comprising: a state machine configured to control theswitching between the PWM mode and PFM mode, said state machinedetermining whether an inductor current provided by said DC-DC converterreaches a first specified value for a selective number of clock cyclesso switching between the PWM mode and PFM mode is to occur; and a pulsegenerator circuit connected to said state machine, wherein the pulsegenerator circuit comprises a low pass filter and an amplifierarrangement for computing a pulse width of the PFM mode using a pulsewidth of the PWM mode as an input.
 2. The DC-DC converter system ofclaim 1, wherein state machine polls a current comparator to check theinductor current.
 3. The DC-DC converter system of claim 1, wherein saidstate machine determines when the first specified value crosses a zerovalue in the PWM mode and checks for said number of clock cycles if thefirst specified value is the same value to initiate switching to saidPFM.
 4. The DC-DC converter system of claim 1, wherein said statemachine determines when the first specified value greater than zero inthe PFM mode and checks for said number of clock cycles if the firstspecified value is the same value to initiate switching to said PWM. 5.The DC-DC converter system of claim 1, wherein said pulse generatorcircuit is configured to operate in the analog domain.
 6. The DC-DCconverter system of claim 1, wherein said pulse generator circuit andsaid state machine share a master clock.
 7. The DC-DC converter systemof claim 1, wherein said low pass filter receives a signal from saidstate machine defining the current mode of use.
 8. A method ofperforming the operations of a DC-DC converter system having at leastone DC-DC converter operating in either a PWM mode or a PFM mode, saidmethod comprising: controlling the switching between the PWM mode andPFM mode by determining whether an inductor current provided by saidDC-DC converter reaches a first specified value for a selective numberof clock cycles so switching between the PWM mode and PFM mode is tooccur; and providing a pulse generator circuit comprising a low passfilter and an amplifier arranged for computing a pulse width of the PFMmode using a pulse width of the PWM mode as an input.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein said controlling step comprises polling a currentcomparator to check the inductor current.
 10. The method of claim 8,wherein said controlling step comprises determining when the firstspecified value crosses a zero value in the PWM mode and checking forsaid number of clock cycles if the first specified value is the samevalue to initiate switching to said PFM.
 11. The method of claim 8,wherein said controlling step comprises determining when the firstspecified value greater than zero in the PFM mode and checking for saidnumber of clock cycles if the first specified value is the same value toinitiate switching to said PWM.
 12. A DC-DC converter system having atleast one DC-DC converter operating in either a PWM mode or a PFM mode,said DC-DC converter system, comprising: a state machine configured tocontrol the switching between the PWM mode and PFM mode, said statemachine determining whether an inductor current provided by said DC-DCconverter crosses a zero value in the PWM mode and checking for aselective number of clock cycles to detect if the current does not crossthe zero value in the PFM mode, so switching between the PWM mode andPFM mode; and a pulse generator circuit connected to said state machine,wherein the pulse generator circuit comprises a low pass filter and anamplifier arrangement for computing a pulse width of the PFM mode usinga pulse width of the PWM mode as an input.
 13. The DC-DC convertersystem of claim 1, wherein the pulse generator circuit is shared amongstthe PWM mode and the PFM mode, and the pulse generator circuit isarranged to generate PWM pulses.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein thepulse generator circuit is shared amongst the PWM mode and the PFM mode,and the pulse generator circuit is arranged to generate PWM pulses. 15.The DC-DC converter system of claim 12, wherein the pulse generatorcircuit is shared amongst the PWM mode and the PFM mode, and the pulsegenerator circuit is arranged to generate PWM pulses.
 16. A DC-DCconverter system having at least one DC-DC converter operating in eithera PWM mode or a PFM mode, said DC-DC converter system comprising: astate machine configured to control the switching between the PWM modeand PFM mode, said state machine determining whether an inductor currentprovided by said DC-DC converter reaches a first specified value for aselective number of clock cycles so switching between the PWM mode andPFM mode is to occur; and a pulse generator circuit connected to saidstate machine and being configured to utilize a pulse width of the PWMmode to determine a starting pulse width of the PFM mode; wherein saidstarting pulse width of the PFM mode is defined to be twice the pulsewidth of the PWM mode for a same effective duty cycle.
 17. A method ofperforming the operations of a DC-DC converter system having at leastone DC-DC converter operating in either a PWM mode or a PFM mode, saidmethod comprising: controlling the switching between the PWM mode andPFM mode by determining whether an inductor current provided by saidDC-DC converter reaches a first specified value for a selective numberof clock cycles so switching between the PWM mode and PFM mode is tooccur; and providing a pulse generator circuit configured to utilize apulse width of the PWM mode to determine a starting pulse width of thePFM mode; wherein said starting pulse width of the PFM mode is definedto be twice the pulse width of the PWM mode for a same effective dutycycle.